RAMALLAH: Israeli forces shot dead an 18-year-old Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Friday, while the military said it had killed someone who threw firebombs at vehicles.
In the early hours of Friday, the Health Ministry said it had been informed of “the martyrdom of the young man Haitham Ezzedine Omar Hmeida, 18, by occupation gunfire in the village of Beitin,” northeast of Ramallah.
It added that the man’s body was being withheld.
In a statement, the Israeli military said its forces had “identified several terrorists throwing Molotov cocktails at Israeli vehicles traveling on a major roadway” near the village of Beitin.
“The soldiers opened fire at the terrorists and eliminated one of them,” the military said, adding that its forces were “currently pursuing the remaining suspects.”
Since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, near-daily violence has rocked the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,078 Palestinians since then, including many militants, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian Health Ministry data.
Also on Friday, a Palestinian youth was injured by shrapnel from Israeli occupation forces’ live ammunition during a military raid on the village of Dura Al-Qari,’ northeast of Ramallah.
Sources said that Israeli infantry forces stormed the village and opened live fire toward the Al-Ain area, injuring a young man in the head with shrapnel from live fire.
His condition was described as stable.
